


I'm Here to Help

by minikyojin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, therapy au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 01:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13376883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minikyojin/pseuds/minikyojin
Summary: Keith has been considered a "trouble youth" for as long as he could remember. A lost cause by anyone who meets him and he feels he is a burden to those that interact with him. So, as a last resort to try and help him with his troubles, his parents sign him up for a, unique, new type of therapy. Will this actually help him out or will it just make his negative thoughts even worse?





	I'm Here to Help

Keith couldn’t help but stare up at the towering building sitting in front of him. Every muscle in his body urged him to just walk away and head “home” and just curl up in a corner to forget this whole _mess_ he got himself in. But as he contemplated that thought, he had a nagging voice in the back of him whispering annoying things to him.

**_If you ditch out on this again you’re just going to have it worse back home._ **

**_Quitting before you even start now? What are you completely useless now?_ **

**_Yeah it’s hopeless for you now, so why bother trying?_ **

Keith could feel his face start to scrunch up in a scowl as he started to let the voices get to him. With a long sigh, trying his best to let his body relax, he took one last look up at the building.

 **_Creativity Therapy_ **.

Those words plastered across the entrance put a bad taste in Keith’s mouth, but there was no point in turning back now. Not that he had much of a choice. So Keith, finally, took the first few steps inside, where he was greeted with an...unexpected sight.

It wasn’t exactly super busy, but there were more people sitting in the waiting room than he thought. Most were kids, much younger than him, scribbling on random bits of scrap paper on the floor, while their parents were chatting with each other nearby.

 _Feels more like a daycare than a therapy center._ Keith thought to himself as he eyed the reception desk. He felt his breath get caught in his throat when he noticed the receptionist saw him.

_No going back now._

Keith started to make his way to the reception desk, now definitely getting the receptionist’s full attention.

“Hello there, did you have an appointment scheduled?” The receptionist politely asked, Keith unable to look her directly in the eye.

“Uh, yeah.” He replied, feeling his voice get caught in his throat.

“Well, if you could sign yourself in, you can take a seat, and we’ll call you when your counsellor is ready.” She stated, placing a sign in sheet on a clipboard on the counter in front of Keith. He sloppily scribbled down his name and rushed towards the closest empty seat he could find. He quickly took out his headphones, and put the buds in his ears and started to listen to one of his playlists of songs as he waited.

He felt more at ease when he heard the song start to play, drowning out the sound of the children playing around with their drawings, goofing off as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

_Lucky…_

Keith decided not to think about it. Overthinking things just ended up badly for him, and the sooner he could leave this place and head back home, the better. For the time being, he decided to just let the song overtake him. It seemed to be the only thing that could calm him down nowadays. If he could, he would just listen to his songs rather than...live life.

**_Pretty dark way of thinking isn’t it?_ **

“Shut up-” Keith mumbled under his breath, quickly looking around to see if anyone heard him, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like it. He quickly tried to sink into his seat, as if he was trying to make himself completely disappear. He desperately tried to calm himself down and tried to drown any negative thoughts that might try and sneak their way in.

_Just call my name...just call my name...just call my name…_

“Mr. Keith...Kogane?” The receptionist asked, reading off Keith’s name on the sign in sheet.

“Over here.” Keith sheepishly raised his hand, and got up from his seat, sloppily stuffed his headphones back into his pocket.

“Your counselor will see you know. Just go down the hall to the second to last door on your right.” The receptionist smiled, which Keith hesitantly tried to return.

**_Wow that was creepy. She probably thinks you’re a creeper now._ **

Keith let out an annoyed groan as he made his way down the hall. There were so many doors, he felt like he would have gotten lost if he didn’t know where to go. Although, as he continued to walk down the hall, the doors seemed to look less and less…’professional’?

The doors started to get more and more covered with drawings that looked like something a 5 year old would draw, though that thought wasn’t all that surprising based on the waiting room. Some were actually pretty good when Keith took the time to look at them. Before he knew it, he made it to the outside of his counselor’s door.

**Takashi Shirogane**

_Interesting name at least._

Somehow, even though it was just a door, it had a different feel to it than the other ones. It wasn’t covered in pictures like some of the other doors, and the nameplate on it seemed to just be a sheet with his name taped on it. As if it was made that very morning.

**_Oh look at that. You probably got some lame, no name doctor because the good ones aren’t willing to put up with your nonsense._ **

Keith hesitated to reach up and open the door, feeling his breath get caught in his throat, and felt his body start to shake as he tried to work up the nerve to open it.

**_Can’t even open a door now? That’s just sad._ **

As if he was taking the plunge in a pool, Keith quickly gripped the door handle and opened it in one swift motion, nearly slamming the door into the wall as he opened it, clearly startling the counselor.

 **_Great first impression moron_ **.

“Hello there. You must be Keith.” The counselor smiled, trying to act unfazed from his sudden burst into his office, unable to tell if that was a good or bad thing.

“Uh yeah, Mr. Shirogane.” Keith tried to keep it formal, eyeing the seat closest to the door.

“Please, take a seat.” Mr. Shirogane gestured for Keith to take a seat, which Keith gladly took. “So, tell me about yourself.” He seemed like a nice enough person, just hearing him speak, even if it was just briefly, just put Keith at ease.

 **_You know he’s probably like this with everyone he sees_ **.

“God you’re so annoying.” Keith brought his hand up to his mouth, realizing that he said something he didn’t mean to out loud again. He regretted to look back up to Mr. Shirogane, but he didn’t seem to be fazed.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it right now. I understand that coming to therapy can be a difficult first step for some people. Just, talk when you feel comfortable, and we’ll get things started.” Mr. Shirogane gave Keith a soft smile, helping him start to feel more at ease as he started to bring his hand down from his mouth.

“It’s just...this seems like it’s going to be a real pain. This whole _therapy_ thing just feels like it’s going to be a waste of time.” Keith groaned, remembering that he was forced to come here against his better judgement.

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s just...my so called ‘parents’ said this is supposed to help me and what not, but I know it’s just an excuse to get me out of the house so they don’t have to deal with me.”

“I see. So are you and your parents not on the best terms?”

Keith tried to answer him, but couldn’t find the right words. A part of him just keeps nagging at him to not say anything.

**_Yeah open up to him. Then he’ll know just how much of a lost cause you are!_ **

“It’s fine. I won’t pry if you don’t want to say.” Mr. Shirogane looked through some paperwork that was lying on his desk, briefly skimming through the pages.

**_Probably your files. Wonder what terrible things he’s already got on you._ **

“Do you know how therapy here works?” Keith was taken aback by the sudden change of subject, that he almost didn’t know how to answer.

“Isn’t it just me talking for an hour and you jot down some random stuff that somehow explains what’s wrong with me?”

Mr. Shirogane just let out a light chuckle, much to Keith’s dismay.

 **_You can’t even get that right? How sad_ **.

“That’s probably how it works at other clinics, but not here. See, here we try a more, creative method call “Art Therapy”.

“‘Art Therapy’?”

“Yes. Usually they tell you this as you register, but as I take it, you were signed up by a third party. Your parents I take it.”

“Yeah...that’s right.”

“Makes sense. Well to put it simply, we put you into weekly sessions to activate the creative side of your brain, and let you express feelings and emotions that you would otherwise repress.” As Mr. Shirogane started to explain how this was going to work, Keith started to feel like this wouldn’t be as bad as he first thought. “So based on what we feel would be the most productive for you, you could be assigned to a variety of things.”

“Like what?”

“Well the most common is a sort of arts and crafts therapy, where you make projects based on a certain theme. Whether it’s to draw a certain emotion, or how you feel in a certain situation to give a brief example.”

“So is that what all those drawings in the hallway is for?” Keith asked, becoming more and more curious as he found out what was going on.

“Precisely. The doors have have drawings on it focus on that kind of therapy.” Thinking back, Keith didn’t remember seeing any drawings on his door.

“So then, what do you focus on?”

“Well, in short, I focus on creative writing therapy.”

“Why creative writing?” When he thought of “art therapy”, writing was the last thing on Keith’s mind.

“I feel like when people can put their feelings into words is when they can really start to feel at ease with themselves.”

“So, what exactly do I have to do?” Keith could see that he might actually enjoy this kind of session. It’s better than any of the alternatives he assumed would happen.

“Well, since this is your first session, we’ll start off with something easy.” Mr. Shirogane reached into his desk and took out a small book. “For the next week at the end of the day, you’re going to keep a journal and catelogue your days.” He handed Keith the journal, earning a confused look.

“So I just write down whatever?”

“That’s right. Also write down any strong emotion you had during the day. Whether it’s positive or negative, anything that stands out you, make a note of it.”

Keith looked down at the book, feeling unsure about this. “And will...will you read whatever I write?”

“That’s right. But anything said, read, or written in this room will stay in this room. Completely confidential.”

“No one else will know about it..? Not even my ‘parents’?”

“Everything that happens will be just between us. You have my word.” He raised a hand up towards Keith, as if he was taking an oath to just Keith. It was a silly gesture, but it managed to make Keith crack a smile. Mr. Shirogane gave a smile in return and leaned back in his seat, and looked over at his clock.

“So it might be a short session, unless you want to talk some more.”

Keith stared down at his new journal, thinking about the fact that if he did cut it short, he would have to head back home. That wasn’t going to happen.

“Um...so, uh...how long have you been doing this, Mr. Shirogane?” He seemed surprised that Keith asked him something like that, making him, once again, instantly regret opening his mouth.

**_Smooth move, moron._ **

“Well first off, we don’t have to stay formal through something like this. You can just call me Shiro if you like.”

 _Shiro..._ It did have a better ring to it than constantly calling him “Mr.” that’s for sure.

“Oh, okay, Shiro…”

“Better.” Shiro smiled, making Keith feel less embarrassed about his slip up. “Now to answer your question, honestly, you’ll be my first official patient.”

“First?”

“Yeah. You see, Art Therapy is still a new concept to most people. Most of the ‘professionals’ who want to take on this kind of work. So, the clinic hires temporary counselors, even taking in volunteers with a passion on the subject.”

“So you’re just a…-?”

“Yes, I’m just a volunteer. But don’t think that I’m not qualified.” Shiro leaned forward in his seat, looking at Keith right in the eye. “The two of us are both here for your benefit, and nothing else. Just because I don’t have a degree in this or anything like that, I’m going to help you open up and get better.”

Keith felt a bit relieved to hear that Shiro wasn’t just another ‘professional’ that would look down on him for what he’s been through. The fact they were more or less on the same level made this feel less like every other “professional” relationship he had to deal with before now.

**_Quick acting like a love struck school girl. You don’t need to give him another excuse why you’re a complete mental case._ **

“Right...okay...well, I’m going to go home.” Keith gathered his things, pressing his new journal against his chest as he stood up and started to head towards the door.

“Oh, is that right? Well, I guess that I’ll see you next week then.” Shiro got up from his seat and followed Keith to the door to help see him out.

Keith couldn’t bring himself to look at him as he left the room without saying another word. His gaze was fixated on the ground as he rushed out of the building, making sure not to trip over any of the kids on his way out.

_There, I went to therapy. Maybe now they’ll all get off my back._

**_You kidding? You’re probably going to screw this up like everything else._ **

_Even if that’s true, at least I’m trying._

**_Yeah and look how good trying gets ya. Give it one more session. You’re not going to last._ **

“Just shut up already!” Keith shouted as he made it to an intersection down the street from the clinic, getting a lot of weird looks from random passersby. Embarrassed, he quickly pulled out his headphones and started to listen to his music again.

_This one will work out. I know it will..._

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, so I was trying to do something different with this kind of fanfic.  
> If anything it's more or less here to help me get through some things, and I ultimately hope that it can help others out later on down the line


End file.
